Report: WEC Close to Signing “Pequeno”

Alexandre Franca Nogueira throws a right hand at Shuichiro Katsumura at a K-1 Hero’s event in July 2007. Photo courtesy of FEG.

In a move that will surely bolster the WEC’s featherweight division, World Extreme Cagefighting is reportedly close to signing former Shooto champion Alexandre Franca “Pequeno” Nogueira.

The news comes from Sherdog, who also reports that a proposed deal to join the ranks of the promotion also comes with an opponent as Nogueira would face BodogFight veteran Nick Agallar in his debut.

After upsetting Shooto star Noboru Asahi twice in his first three bouts, with the second giving Nogueira the featherweight belt, Nogueira would go on to hold championship gold for seven years until he was stripped of his title due to injury in May 2006.

Nogueira was long considered the world’s best fighter at 145 lbs until he dropped consecutive fights to Koutetsu Boku and Hideo Tokoro respectively. His last fight was a knockout win over Shuichiro Katsumura at the opening round of K-1 Hero’s middleweight tournament last July.